Its a surreal experience. It chronicles the peculiar kidnapping case of Jan Broberg, an Idaho. You have to have this baby by your 16th birthday. All of that brainwashingI knew that wasnt real when I [later interacted with boys] and had that moment of going, Okay, I havent been vaporized. Their home energy was quite ordinary for a few years, as per reports, yet everything changed shortly . I didn't know it was wrong right away. But this time you were seeing an actor bring your abuser to life, witnessing two actors portray you during this traumatic period, and seeing actors portray your family. When Bob was 3 yrs old his father passed away and in 1939 his mother married Joseph Ersol Berchtold who raised Bob and . As far as the other scenes, I think I really have been able to [separate myself]. The Skye Borgmandirected documentary condensed this tale into 91 minutes. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. She recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a BA in journalism and a minor in film studies. We'll never know. After the chaos of the events, she went on to share her story by speaking at various events and warning people of the dangers of others-even those who seem completely trustworthy. Berchtold would show up to the events and pass out fliers denying anything the Brobergs had to say about him. The Corpsewood Manor Murders: A Story Of Satanism, Sex Parties, And Slaughter, Denver Man Convicted Of Gunning A Woman Down With An AK-47 Because Her Dog Pooped Outside His Home, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Many people did. Following the incident, he convinced the Brobergs that part of his therapy required him to sleep in the same bed as their 12-year-old daughter Jan while listening to tapes provided by his therapist. Berchtold made it clear to Jan that she couldnt talk about any of their sexual encounters to anyone, and she complied since she trusted him. Bob kidnapped Jan twice, whereas he never kidnapped me. About a month later, Bob took me to Ogden for the weekend to meet his five kids. That friend, Robert Berchtold, calls Jans mother, Mary Ann, and falsely tells her that Jan is prostituting herself and selling drugs. There must have been a lot of girls. [There] was the brainwashing that was groomed into me before I was kidnapped[like being led to believe] that there were aliens. The drama series, A Friend of the Family, was released on Peacock, and many fans are talking about its true story. I was working on myself. I made statements and, because I was a minor, I didn't have to testify in court. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He took her inside the motor home and abused her, while I waited outside. From then on, the abuse happened dailywhenever he had the chance. The altered state of having been abused and how that affects your psyche and your life and your choices and your thinking and your self-worthIm worthless. 2 . Privacy Policy. Who is Robert Berchtold's Family? Idaho, who quickly become close pals with their new neighbor, Robert Berchtold, and his wife and kids. Let me inform you that Read More Robert Berchtold Wiki, Wife, Age, Family, Brother . Watching Jake Lacy become Berchtold was seamless. I remember there was another girl that he was "seeing" at the time. He had a sick obsession with Jan, which eventually led to her kidnapping when she was only 12 years old in October 1974. My mother worked two jobs, so there was a lot of time for that. Vanity Fairs 2023 Hollywood Issue Welcomes You to the After-Party of Our Dreams, Inside the New Rights Next Frontier:The American West, The Strange, Sexually Charged Genesis of Gloria Swansons Legendary Memoir, The One Thingthe Royal Family Never Travels Without: Blood, NetflixsMurdaugh Murders Team Say Theyve Uncovered New Crimes, Trumps Relationship With Jared and Ivanka Is About to Get a Lot More Awkward, The Cringey Sexcapades of a Horny Billionaire, What Is Cinema? the way she approached me and the way she smiled and the way she was like, Oh, can we hug? It was [like] watching myself. By the second kidnapping she had filed for a divorce, Broberg said. But Berchtold did not just kidnap Broberg oncehe entrapped Brobergs religious parents in such an elaborate web of trust and shame that he managed to convince the family to drop the most serious charges against him, continue letting him spend time with their young daughter, andin the most shocking twist of allkidnap her a second time when she was 14. They were just extraordinary. This info was at 17 min left in the doc. The series stars McKenna Grace as Jan, along with Jake Lacy as Robert "B" Berchtold, . It all started in 1972 when Berchtold met the Broberg family at a church service in Pocatello, Idaho, and quickly became an esteemed family friend. He doesn't want to think about it. We think hes in the parking lot. Im like, What? It is a lifelong process. Generally, I am pretty happy and pretty great about 90% of the time. The nine-episode series, which premiered this week, retells the sagathis time making it clear how a family like the Brobergs could have let Berchtold (plus his wife and young children) into their lives and continue to give the neighbor second chances. She had that same kind of brightness. The district attorneywho had basically prosecuted his showing up at that conference with a gun as a registered sex offendercalled me. I guess it doesn't matter at this point, but since the doc is out and everything.looks like any kin he had will never speak of him Scan this QR code to download the app now. Photo: Courtesy Jan Broberg. Robert Berchtold was ultimately given a prison sentence, but rather than face life behind bars, he downed a bottle of heart medication with Kahla and milk and ended his life. I guess, in your young head, you think, "This is just the way it is. Over the course of the next six months, Berchtold slept in Jans bed roughly four times a week. At one of the events, Berchtold assaulted a Bikers Against Child Abuse member who was there to guard the event. Due to the violence at her book tour, Jan Broberg filed a restraining order against Berchtold, which she was granted for life. I said, Did you do some deep dive on my dad that I dont even know about? Hes like, No. He told the school that he was CIA, and that they were on the run.. A Friend of the Family, created by Nick Antosca, is based on the real-life case featured in the 2017 documentary Abducted in Plain Sight . Mckenna Grace, 16, plays teenaged Jan Broberg opposite pedophile Robert Berchtold (Jake Lacy) in "A Friend of the Family" -- and said she wanted to "vomit from how gross it is." Robert Ersol "Bob" Berchtold . You have to believe victims. Jan, Karen and Susan. I could do that too, but I didnt have to wear it all the time. Youve revisited this chapter of your life before in your books, documentary, and speaking engagements. He was sentenced to five years probation and five years in prison. Its something that happened to them or someone close to themthey had been groomed or conned or manipulated, and could relate. In his February 11 special, the comedian reflects on the loss of his partner, Lynn Shelton, while also tackling hot-button issues like abortion and fascism. 'Abducted in Plain Sight' on Netflix tells the story of Jan Broberg, a girl who is kidnapped by a family friend named Robert "B" Berchtold in the 1970s. I could dig into the pockets. They didnt forgive him. We couldnt get over that feeling that it was like he has the same kind of heart. So it looks . The reality, though, is that the extraordinary nature of the revelations in the film, and their insufficient excavation, end up overshadowing the much more urgent subject at hand. "But I knew they had been groomed and manipulated too.". Warning: Contains SPOILERS for A Friend of the Family. He said he would abuse his daughter, Jill, if I didn't comply. Oh my goodness, Mary Ann replies, in a steady, even tone, as if hes just told her that seasonal allergies might be worse than usual this summer, or that two people brought potato salads to the potluck. It was only five or six years ago, when I found Jan Broberg's book about her ordeal and contacted her, that I found out he had only served a year in prison after being found guilty of the rape of a child. I remember waking up in the morning and not feeling well at all. The twisted tale began in the early 70s in the small town of Pocatello, Idaho. The movie includes pictures Berchtold took of Jan as a 12-year-old girl, all straw-colored hair, wide eyes, and freckles. Robert Hites Berchtold, 90, of Beaver Falls, formerly of New Brighton, died Thursday, September 10, 2020, in Providence Care Center. Berchtold was born on February 7, 1936 in Tremonton, Utah. We will do a better job. I mean, Ive been married and divorced a number of times. Berchtold, it transpires, had repeatedly tried to infiltrate other families with young girls, and had been reprimanded by the high council in his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, for doing so. So does a legal system that allowed Berchtold to kidnap, drug, and rape a child and receive a virtual slap on the wrist. In the doc, Brobergs recount the emotional & sexual manipulation, insidious schemes & depraved actions that allowed church-going Idaho family to fall under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor, who would stop at nothing to be with their daughter. That event would set off a series of events for a series of tragic events in the life of Jan Broberg, which she discussed in the documentary Abducted in Plain Sight as well as . Almost a decade ago, the world was gripped with anxiety as it watched the legal proceedings against a young Se. There's somebody else who's doing it.". He said because we wanted to come home, they would not let me come back across the border if I did not have her married to me. Mary Ann Broberg described Berchtold as having a charisma that Bob didnt possess., Jan Broberg works as an actress, known for roles in. In October 1974, Berchtold offered to pick Jan up from her piano lesson and take her horseback riding. After picking Jan up from piano lessons and drugging her, Berchtold dragged the unconscious child into his motorhome, bound her wrists and ankles to his bed with straps, and set up a small device to play a recording. In the beginning, he would say, "Do what you're told," and then, when I was 13, he said, "If it's not you, it's going to be somebody else." and our He told the Brobergs he needed to sleep in Jans bed. Manipulation and grooming are not understood by so many. Berchtold, who was now living in Salt Lake City, Utah, had enrolled Jan at an all-girls Catholic school in Pasadena, California. He called me before it came on the news. The only contact we had was one time when Berchtold was trying to defame my mom for writing our storyafter our first published book. We will find the advocacy and the legal ways to put serial predators behind bars. As it turned out, Berchtold had helped Jan escape out of her bedroom window that night. She had me stay the night with a friend and invited her friends over. And then he had her wait outside while he abused me. That was a really crazy little period of time. And I could hang it up. I wasn't there for Bob's sentencing. She brought him to the house for dinner and he seemed nice enough. I looked further and found that his real Dad died when he was 1, and his mother remarried to his Dad's elder brother (common to Mormon faith). That brainwashing, for me, was something that [lasted] a short period of time. Robert Ersol Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, died Nov. 11, 2005. Because maybe if I had known what I know now, what Im trying to tell the whole world now [with the series]that these predators dont stop [on their own]maybe the girls [Berchtold abused] after me wouldnt have [been abused]. I could read the scripts. Peacocks new drama miniseries, A Friend of the Family, is based on the real events of what happened to Robert Berchtold and the Broberg family in the 1970s. Ive watched it several times nowThat has consistently been the one [that bothered me]. It unpacks too many bizarre events in a short time frame to allow for much additional analysis. Theres a lot more to the story. Grace M. Galarraga is a writer based out of Southern California. The result is a documentary that exposes them for public scrutiny without pausing to really interrogate their actions. NetflixBerchtold and his family often had sleepovers with the Broberg children. Then, when I was 17-and-a-half, I dated a guy who wanted to have a relationship with me. Her 16th birthday came and went, and when she woke up the next morning to see that everything was fine, she knew the aliens werent real. Robert Berchtold passed away at age 69 years old on November 11, 2005. What was it like seeing the scenes between Jake Lacy and your character during the kidnapping? I was so involved and so consulted and so cared for. I entered into a homosexual relationship with her father in order to have access to Jan, Berchtold later admitted. Without spoiling the most shocking ones, they involve multiple confessions of extramarital sexual relationships, as well as an elaborate plot involving aliens that Berchtold used to prey on Jan. Berchtold was arrested for kidnapping, but the Brobergs, under duress, withdrew their most serious charges. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. They had no idea about the abuse. Growing up Mormon, Broberg told "The View" co-hosts she was somewhat familiar with the "Mary, Jesus, and Joseph story," and B told her a similar story through the voice recordings. Set in the 1970s, Robert and Mary Ann Broberg and their three young daughters, Jan, . He turned sideways and you could almost see him reaching back to start a tape recorder. Robert Berchtold had an obsession with his 12-year-old neighbor Jan Broberg, even sleeping in the same bed as her four nights a week. According to Newsweek, Jan Broberg grew up to become an actress and an advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse. He would pick me up from school and take me to his place, his motor home, our place or just in the car in the middle of nowhere. "You have to think again how the grooming happens," Broberg explained. The first time Berchtold kidnapped Broberg, he took her to Mexico and married her. He was born February 7, 1936, in Tremonton, Utah to Leonard N. and Lucille Grover Berchtold. The next time I stayed at his apartment was the first time I didn't get my "vitamin," so I was conscious during the assault. Taylor Swifts opening act on her debut album, Trumps Relationship With Jared and Ivanka. Berchtold vehemently tried to denounce the book, claiming that they were lying about him and about the truth for a profit. Once that moment happened, I believed it entirely, completely, and I knew [aliens] were watching me. Kidnap victim Jan Broberg, the subject of Netflix documentary Abducted in Plain Sight, said she was groomed by her kidnapper to believe UFOs and extra-terrestrial life were a plausible possibility. If she did, he said, her dad would be killed, her sister Karen made blind, and Susan taken in her stead. In 1976, he spent 10 days in jail after accepting a plea deal based on the first kidnapping, then was sentenced to a mental facility for 6 months. In one, her underwear is clearly visible. In 1974, he abducted the then 12-year-old, and once again two years later. [The older sister] came to the conference when he showed up with the gun. By the time it hits October, November, December, by the beginning of the year when Caroline and Karen are dragging out of me, What did he do? I knew that that [the alien] part wasnt real. Berchtold killed himself in 2005, before being sentenced for simple assault, criminal trespassing, and disorderly conductcharges stemming from that conference where he showed up with the gun. Abducted in Plain Sight was first released as a documentary in 2017 with the title Forever B, but its gained rather more traction this month after being added to Netflixs true-crime library. Afterward, Berchtold maintained his grasp on their lives by ensnaring both of the Brobergs in a sexual relationship before kidnapping their daughter for a second time two years later. He was a salesman and my mother had contacted him about purchasing a traveling franchise. [Berchtold] was [close to another family] when he died. Jan returned home, but only briefly. What happened to the Berchtold children? Robert Berchtold Wikipedia Bio. It was through a course that I did that helped me see that you have the rest of your life. She had slowly begun to question whether the aliens were real, but a small part of her still believed in them. We watched Planet of the Apes on TV. A friend sent it to them. Berchtold was sentenced to five years in prison anyway but served only 10 days. Robert, his wife Gail Toyn Berchtold, and their children moved to Pocatello, Idaho, perhaps in the early 1970s, only to live next door to the equally religious Broberg family. She never expressed any remorse for what happened, never apologized. She was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by her neighbor and family friend Robert "B." Berchtold when she was 12 and again when she was 14. Between 1972 and 1976 he groomed Broberg and abducted her twice: once at the age of 12 and the second time when she was 14. And before she and Berchtold were separated, he informed her that the aliens had contacted him with instructions for Jan not to speak of the mission or to have contact with any other men. Bob recalled saying to her, Dear, youll regret that decision someday., She stayed in Jackson Hole for two weeks, continuing the mission and living with Berchtold. NetflixMary Ann Broberg described Berchtold as having a charisma that Bob didnt possess.. Jan, being a child, believed she was in love with him and that they still had to complete their mission. "That's a story I heard at Christmas time.". In truth, Berchtold drugged the 12-year-old and staged the scene to make it seem as if the two of them had been captured and taken away against their will. Robert E Berchtold of Logandale, Clark County, Nevada was born on February 7, 1936. 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A restraining order against Berchtold, 69, of Logandale, Clark,... All the time. `` offered to pick Jan up from her piano and! Ways to put serial predators behind bars which eventually led to her kidnapping when she was granted for life use! Understood by so many and speaking engagements for a Friend of the events and pass out fliers denying anything Brobergs. To denounce the book, claiming that they were lying about him and about the for! To Newsweek, Jan Broberg grew up to become an actress and an advocate victims... Months, Berchtold had helped Jan escape out of Southern California talking about its story! Between Jake Lacy as Robert & quot ; B & quot ; Berchtold, 69, of,... Berchtold vehemently tried to denounce the book, claiming that they were lying about him Child abuse member who there...

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